Page 83 of Forever Enough
The three babies, all of whom were a year-and-a-half old, were taken to another room by Stella and Ty Senior, who’d decided to sit out of game night this time. No one seemed to protest their departure.
“That can’t be good,” Rose whispered as the older couple whisked the babies away.
I looked at her with a questioning expression. “Why can’t that be good?”
Rose frowned and glanced at her younger cousins, while Lily explained, “Because that means Joshua and Nathan have picked some insane game to play, and Grams and Granddad want no part of it. They’re using the babies as an excuse to escape. Lucky bastards.”
“Oh,” I said, as I followed Rose’s gaze over to where the two young men stood. They both seemed pleased with themselves.
Avery made her way over to us, swinging my backpack. “I had Bradly go out to his truck and get your change of clothes, Mackenzie.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Rose narrowed her eyes at Avery. “And why exactly does she need to change her clothes?”
With a wicked smile in Rose’s direction, she replied, “Because Grams gave me a heads up on the games, so that I could make sure Mackenzie was dressed appropriately.”
Rose quickly spun to face me and grabbed my hands. “Whatever happens with game night, don’t run. The way Bradly looks at you when he doesn’t think anyone’s watching is so sweet! We all really like you, so no matter what happens, promise you won’t run.”
My mouth fell open and a small squeak came out.
“Stop scaring her!” Lily stated as she hooked her arm with mine. “Come on, you can use Morgan’s old bedroom to change while I use her bathroom to throw up.”
Avery grinned and handed me the bag, and Lily quickly whisked me away to change. While she dry heaved in the bathroom, I quickly changed into the jeans and sweater I had packed. She reappeared in the bedroom and sat down on the bed. The poor thing looked exhausted.
“Are you okay?” I asked, sitting down next to her.
With a smile, she nodded. “I don’t know why they call it morning sickness because it can hit at any time.”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”
“It doesn’t matter to me or Maverick. We just want a healthy baby. Mav grew up without parents, and the one couple who wanted to adopt him were killed in a car accident, so this baby means the world to both of us.”
“That’s terrible,” I said. “Not about the baby, about Maverick’s childhood.”
She nodded. “Yeah, it is. He’s really looking forward to starting a family of his own. Our relationship grew super quickly, and we got pregnant much sooner than we planned to, but I’m not upset by it at all.” Turning to look at me, she asked, “You love him, don’t you? I am a firm believer—and proof is in the pudding—that love can happen overnight.”
The smile on my face was instant. “I do. I don’t know how fast your relationship went, but I’m pretty sure Bradly and I are beating records.”
She laughed. “I totally believe in love at first sight. I think our hearts know when they meet our lobster. Well, maybe they don’t know right away if your head is stuck up your ass, like mine was at first.”
Confused, I asked, “Lobster?”
“Yeah, lobsters mate for life. I think we all have a soul mate, and when we meet them, we just…know. I think deep down inside of me, I knew Maverick was my soul mate, but I was blinded by what I thought was love for my best friend. Spending time with Mav only showed me how wrong I was. He’s my lobster. Like Bradly is yours.”
“Like from Friends?” I said with a laugh. When Lily looked at me, clearly confused, I added, “You know, the TV show. Friends?”
She shook her head, and my mouth dropped open. “You’ve never watched Friends?”
“Um…no. Should I?”
“Yes!”
“Okay! I’ll watch it then,” she replied, laughing.
Grinning, I looked down at the floor, then back up to Lily. “Bradly said I could bring my sister and her fiancé to your wedding on New Year’s Eve. Do you mind?”
“I don’t mind at all. The more the merrier!” Lily stood. “But we should get back downstairs before Rose sends a search party for us. She’ll think we’re trying to bug out on game night.”
As we made our way out of Morgan’s bedroom, my bag slung over my shoulder, I asked, “Do you know what games we’re playing tonight?”